"Exhibit C"

The Dogon Society / Decon

Artists:

Some people say there's never going to be another Nas. Other people say that if there is one, he'll either save hip-hop by dropping a classic album or prove its death by not catching on with the masses. It's all speculation, obviously, but where do you go from here once it turns out that those hypotheses might actually get tested in the field? The correlation between Nas and Jay Electronica dates back a while, through enthusiastic co-signs and collaborations (Jay produced Untitled's leadoff track "Queens Get the Money"), but it's stood out the most significantly as a stylistic connection-- particularly through the Just Blaze-produced "Exhibit" series. "Exhibit A (Transformation)" dropped in late 2008 to intrigued buzz, the radio-rip/live show highlight "Exhibit B" cranked the fervor up by pairing Jay with a ferocious Mos Def, and by the time "Exhibit C" came out as an official single around Christmas, rap fiends were starting to wonder if this dude was the next shit's next shit.

And yeah, Jay Electronica does resemble Nas to an extent, entwining personality-driven storytelling, cultural insight, unforced lyrical dexterity and a voice that bristles with calculating intensity in a way that feels like he's more than halfway to his own "Halftime". It'd be impressive enough if he just replicated Nas' style, but that'd just make him an impressive biter. Jay has his own approach-- a bit more prone to willfully audacious otherness (quoting MGMT in the same breath he name-checks Marcus Garvey; tweaking his own name on some "call me Jay Elec-Hanukkah/ Jay Elec-Yarmukle" shit), but still keeping completely on the level and selling every word like a pro. The lyrics establish Jay's up-from-nothing climb and his New Orleans-rooted style, making "Exhibit C" a watershed moment: this is the single fans will point to when they look back and say, "I knew he had something, but damn." Which would be enough, fine -- having Just Blaze's graceful yet massive piano chords underpinning him, though? Reason enough to believe for real.